Oxygenating device

ABSTRACT

For oxygen enrichment of the blood during sleep the invention proposes that oxygen-enriched air be fed into the space between the cover and the top side of the mattress of a bed. This is done in part through the interior of the mattress with an air-permeable cover layer, in part through a soft interposed mat laid over the sleeper.

The invention concerns a treatment device for supplying a person withadditional oxygen in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.

As a source for the treatment gas, known oxygenating devices of thistype comprise a pressure cylinder filled with oxygen which is connectedvia a reducing valve to a hose, the free end of which has a face maskattached to it. In this way a specific and loss-free supply of oxygen tothe user can be guaranteed. For long-term therapy in particular,however, this method is not very acceptable because the wearing of aface mask in treatment sessions is unpleasant and the treatment takes upa lot of time which cannot be used for other purposes.

It has now been recognised that an oxygen enrichment of blood in humanbeings can also be brought about by cutaneous respiration. It hasfurther been recognised that between the top side of the mattress of abed and the cover lying over a sleeping person there is a space which isquite well sealed from the environment which provides good flow contactwith the skin of the sleeper through the thin night clothes. By virtueof the device according to the invention, this space which encompasses alarge part of the surface of the skin is supplied with oxygen or withoxygen enriched air through an appropriate conducting device.

The supply of additional oxygen into the circulation through cutaneousrespiration is, it is true, less intensive than the supply throughinhaled air, but this can largely be compensated for by a considerablylonger treatment period. In addition, the supply of extra oxygen in thisway in no way involves the user in any unpleasantness, nor does itinvolve any extra time; it is done during sleep. The additional oxygenemerging from the space lying between the cover and the surface of themattress also provides oxygen enrichment in the immediate environmentaround the sleeper so that an additional oxygen enrichment of the bloodis obtained by the sleeper breathing in any oxygen in the space whichhas not been consumed.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in thesubclaims.

The further embodiment of the invention according to claim 2 is ofadvantage in respect of undisturbed sleep comfort and the evenlydistributed supply of the treatment gas into the space.

The further embodiment of the invention according to claim 3 also servesto provide an even distribution of the treatment gas without anyimpairment in sleep comfort.

According to claims 4 to 6 an open pore internal structure of theinterposed mat can be achieved simply and in a user-friendly manner.

If, in order to feed the treatment gas into the space, as interposed matis used which lies over the sleeping person, then the oxygen emergingfrom this mat first of all reaches those parts of the skin which areuppermost. In order to supply the lowermost parts of the skin, a similarinterposed mat can be used in principle; since, however, pressure isapplied on this by the weight of the sleeping person, its porousinternal structure must be somewhat harder in design, although as a ruleno loss in comfort is perceived since the surface of a mattress isgenerally quite a lot harder than the cover lying over the sleepingperson.

In the case of a device according to claim 7, use is made of the factthat in the mattress itself you already have a structure which allows acertain rate of air flow and which also supports the body evenly andcomfortably and which, with a slight modification, can also take overthe role of supplying oxygen to the lower parts of skin of a sleepingperson. With a device according to claim 7 the area of the bedunderneath the sleeping person essentially has the same construction asa conventional bed.

The use of an interior sprung mattress as an interposed structure as isindicated in claim 8, is advantageous with respect to achieving optimumpermeability and uniform supply of oxygen.

In the construction of the mattress forming the interposed structureaccording to claim 9, the release of oxygen into the environment of thebed is kept small.

The further embodiment of the invention according to claim 10 is ofadvantage with respect to the fact that a standard sheet is laid on themattress.

Mattresses normally have two choices of surfaces on which to lie forsummer or winter use. In a further embodiment of the invention accordingto claim 11, when a double-sided mattress of this type is used,whichever surface of the mattress is bottom-most is sealed so that it isimpermeable to the circulating medium, so that no oxygen is able toescape through it.

With a device according to claim 12 the circulating medium link betweenthe interior of the mattress and the oxygen supply line is achievedautomatically when the mattress is laid on the base.

With the further embodiment of the invention according to claim 13 adouble-sided mattress guarantees that any time that the supply lineconnection is not needed it is automatically sealed if it is not in useand is compulsorily opened whenever it is connected to the supply line.

A device of the type described in claim 14 does not need oxygen supplycylinders which have to be replaced at intervals.

With a device according to claim 15, the production of oxygen enrichedair can be done at times when the bed is not in use so that the sleep ofthe user is not disturbed by the noise generated by the compressor.

With a device according to claim 16, oxygen is only supplied when theuser desires it.

With a device according to claim 17 the supply of oxygen enriched air inthe supply cylinder can be kept at a high level at any time, and theperiods when the supply cylinder is topped up can be preset by the user.

With a device according to claim 19, other additives and/or fragrancescan also be supplied to the space lying between the cover and thesurface of the mattress in addition to the oxygen.

With a device according to claim 20, the supply of the treatment gasdoes not cause any cooling of the surface of the skin.

The further embodiment of the invention according to claim 21 is ofadvantage with respect to the economical use of the treatment gas.

The further embodiment of the invention according to claim 22 makes itpossible to produce the treatment gas centrally for a number of placesof use, e.g. in the cellar of a hotel. In view of the fact that thetreatment gas is bottled in supply cylinders which are then connected tothe conducting device at the place of use, there is no need for anyadditional line installations in the building.

The further embodiment of the invention according to claim 23 isadvantageous with respect to the small size of the supply cylinders. Thetreatment gas for one night can be stored in small five liter cylinderswhich can stand unobtrusively in the room.

The invention is described below in greater detail with the aid ofdesign examples and by reference to the attached drawings. In these:

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section through a bed which is also used foroxygen therapy;

FIG. 2 shows a section through a plug-in connection, by means of whichthe mattress of the bed shown in FIG. 1 is connected to an oxygen supplyline;

FIG. 3 is a schematic connection diagram of the oxygen supply device forthe bed illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section through a bed which has been modified foroxygen therapy and which has a conventional mattress;

FIG. 5 shows a similar view to FIG. 1 in which a bed is illustratedwhich has been modified for oxygen therapy; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic showing the production of treatment gas in abuilding with a number of places of use, e.g. a hotel.

In FIG. 1 a bed with a slatted frame is designated with the number 10which supports a modified interior sprung mattress designated by thenumber 14 on top of slats 12.

The interior spring mattress 14 has a rectangular frame 16 enclosing itwhich is made of a relatively hard foam material and two cover layers18, 20 which are made up of fibre mats. There are arranged between thetwo cover layers 18, 20 springs 22, each of which are sewn into a pocket24. The complete assembly as described above is sewn into a cover 26. Inthis respect the construction of the interior sprung mattress 14 is nodifferent from the conventional construction, but it goes without sayingthat the two cover layers 18, 20 can have different design details(sides for summer or winter use).

At the foot area of the interior sprung mattress 14 there is now alsofitted into each of the top and bottom surfaces and close to the edge aplug-in connector part 28 which fits together with a plug-in connectorpart 30 fitted to one of the slats 12 and in this way connects theinterior of the interior sprung mattress 14 to a supply line 32, bymeans of which oxygen enriched air, which can also be mixed withfragrances and/or other additives, is supplied from a supply devicewhich is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3.

In order to prevent any escape of this treatment air through whichevercover layer is bottom-most, there is inserted between the bottom of theinterior sprung mattress 14 and the top of the slats 12 a barrier filmwhich is a part of the bed which is separate from the interior sprungmattress 14 and remains in place on the slatted base 10 when theinterior sprung mattress 14 is removed. For this purpose, the barrierfilm 34 can be joined to the upper surfaces of the slats 12 for exampleby means of self-adhesive strips on its underside.

If the frame 16 for the interior sprung mattress 14 is not naturallyalready essentially air-impermeable then its inner surface must becovered with an additional barrier film 36. This may also be stretchedwith edge segments 38. 40 over those marginal areas of the air-permeablecover layers 18, 20 on which a user does not normally lie. The edgesegments 38, 40 are therefore broad in the area where the legs lie,narrow in the back area and broad again in the head area. Looking inplan view, the shape of the free edges of the edge segments 38, 40 can,for example, follow the boundary contour of a person lying in the middleof the bed at a distance of approximately 20 to 30 cm.

A sheet 42 is shown laid over the interior sprung mattress 14 which istucked between the mattress and the slatted base 10 in the standardfashion.

A pillow 44 and also a duvet 46 are shown schematically laid over theinterior sprung mattress 14.

An interposed mat designated with the number 48 is shown in the spacebetween the duvet 46 and the top side of the interior sprung mattress14. This mat has a soft, loosely packed and light fill 50 which may, forexample, take the form of a mat made of woollen fibres. Alternativelythe fill 50 can take the form of a two-dimensional bead chain made ofstyropor beads or similar and the individual beads are held by threadspassing through them in a flat, lattice-like geometry as will beexplained in greater detail later on by reference to FIG. 5.

The fill 50 is encompassed by a permeable cover 52. The latter has aconnection piece 54 which is connected to the supply line 32 by means ofa connection hose 56.

Lengthwise and widthwise, the interposed mat 48 is somewhat smaller thanthe duvet 46 so that the edge sections of the duvet 46 which hang downover it also cover the interposed mat 48 and provide a seal against theenvironment when a person sleeping in the bed lies between the top sideof the interior sprung mattress 14 and the underside of the interposedmat 48. If the supply line 32 is supplied with oxygen rich air whilstthe user is asleep then this reaches the lowermost parts of the skinthrough the permeable top side of the interior sprung mattress 14 andthe permeable sheet 42 and the also permeable night clothes of the user.Similarly, the oxygen enriched air released by the interposed mat 48reaches the uppermost parts of the skin.

As a modification to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a cover and theinterposed mat 48 can also be sewn together. This can then also beplaced in a common cover.

If the user does not want to use a duvet, in summer for example, aninterposed mat can be used with a cover which does not allow any air topermeate on the top side and in this way takes on the sealing functionotherwise provided by the duvet.

The supply of oxygen to the supply line 32 can in principle take placeby means of an oxygen cylinder which is changed at intervals and areducing valve. FIG. 3 shows an oxygen supply device in which oxygen isproduced locally.

A compressor 58 supplies an oxygen enriching unit 60 with compressedair. The latter consists of, for example, a membrane which has adifferent permeability for oxygen and nitrogen. The oxygen enrichingunit 60 therefore splits the compressed air supplied into two partialcircuits, one of which is a nitrogen rich partial circuit which isdischarged via a line 62 and which for preference passes through thewall of the building into the open air. The oxygen rich partial circuitis compressed by means of a line 64 and a 3/3 control valve 66 into asupply cylinder 68 whereby the movement of the control valve 66 into theappropriate operating position is carried out by a control unit 70adjoined to the compressor 58 simultaneously with the compressor 58being switched on.

The control unit 70 is supplied with the electric output signal from apressure transducer 72 which is connected to the interior of the supplycylinder 68 and generates an output signal whenever the pressure insidethis cylinder drops below a pre-set value. The control unit 70 receivesa second input signal from a switch clock 74, on which the user can setthe compressor operating times at which he will not be disturbed by anyoperation of the compressor 58. The control unit 70 processes the twoinput signals essentially in AND logic operation.

In a second (embodiment)* of the control valve 66 which is manuallyadjustable, the interior of the supply cylinder 68 is connected to amixer cylinder 80 by means of a line 76 and a pressure reducer 78. Thiscylinder holds a volume of fluid 82 which contains a fragrance and/or anadditive. By bubbling the oxygen enriched air through the volume offluid 82 the fragrance and/or other additive are mixed with the oxygenenriched air. The air so obtained is fed to the supply line 32 by meansof a manually operated tap 84.

Translator's note: I think a word has been left out of the text. Theliteral translation is “in a second of the control valve 66”.

A heating unit 85 is shown schematically behind the tap 84 which heatsthe oxygen enriched air to a temperature which is close to the surfacetemperature of the skin and which can be adjusted by the user.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the plug-in connector part 28 has a sleevesection 86 which carries a flange section 88.

The part of the sleeve section 86 below the flange section 88 has anopening 90 going through it, for which allowance is made in the coverlayer 20 and the cover 26. A cover disc 92 is glued to the lower face ofthe sleeve section 86, as a result of which the plug-in connector part28 is able to pass through the cover layer 20 and the cover 26 andessentially provides a seal for the circulating medium.

The top end of the sleeve section 86 is normally connected by means of atiltable valve flap 94 which is pre-tensioned into the closing positionby means of a wire strap spring 96.

The plug-in connector part 30 carries a limiting flange 98, the positionof which is selected so that when it is positioned against the coverdisk 92 an upper end section 100 of the plug-in connector part 30projects over the top end of the sleeve section 86, as a result of whichthe valve flap 94 is forced to open against the force of the wire strapspring 96. In order to facilitate the admission of the oxygen enrichedair into the interior of the interior sprung mattress 14 under theseconditions, recesses 102 are provided at the edge of the end section100.

FIG. 4 shows a modified bed in which a standard mattress is used, theinternal construction of which is of no interest here.

A bottom interposed mat 104 is provided over the mattress 14 which onceagain has an open pore fill 106 and also a cover 108 made of a permeablematerial. The fill 106 is now however made of hard open pore foammaterial, the hardness of which may essentially correspond to that offirmer foam interior mattresses. Lengthwise and crosswise runningchannels 110 are provided in the fill 106 which are connected to a maindistribution channel 112 which is fed from a connection piece 114. Thelatter is in turn connected to the supply line 32 by means of aconnection hose 116.

The bottom interposed mat 104 is placed between the top side of themattress 14 and the sheet 42. In this way the bottom interposed mat 104ensures the oxygen supply to the lowermost sections of skin of a personlying in bed, in a similar manner to the way in which the modifiedinterior sprung mattress 14 achieves this in the embodiment shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows a cutout from a modified pliable filling material which canbe used for the interposed mat 48.

Beads 118 made of styropor or some other light synthetic material havethree holes 120, 122, 124 which are perpendicular to each other.Crosswise holding threads 126 and lengthwise holding threads 128 aredrawn through the holes 120 and 122 in the surface of the mat. As can beseen, the diameter of the holes 120, 122 and 124 is appreciably largerthan the diameter of the holding threads, so that these channels canalso be used as passageways for the treatment air. Other passageways,via which the treatment air is distributed over the interposed mat 48,exist between the outer surfaces of the beads 118 and the cover 52, thesides of which are separated by the bead mat.

As an option, a bead mat can be constructed from fibre balls throughwhich the holding threads are drawn using a needle.

FIG. 6 shows the production of oxygen enriched air for a number ofplaces of use, e.g. the beds in a hotel or in a clinic.

The production of the treatment gas is in principle carried out in thesame way as shown in FIG. 3.

The outlet on the mixer cylinder 80 is now, however, connected to theinlet of another compressor 130. The compressor 130 further draws inambient air by means of an adjustable throttle 132. The throttle 132 isadjusted so that the total oxygen content of the mix is approximately38%. This is advantageous in respect of fire protection. The output ofthe compressor 130 is connected by means of a valve 134 to a supplycylinder 136 which also has a valve 138.

For preference, the fluid volume 82 contains sea salt as an additive andthe production of the aerosol made up of oxygen enriched air and fluidis achieved for preference under the simultaneous effect of UV lightwhich is generated by a UV radiator 140 which is positioned in the mixercylinder (or irradiates into a mixer cylinder which has a quartz windowor some other UV permeable window).

After filling the supply cylinders 136, these can then be connected toany bed in the building, the simplest being to connect it only to theinterposed mat 48 but if required also to the modified interior sprungmattress 14. The volume of treatment gas supplied can be adjusted byadjusting a pressure reducer 142.

The volume of the supply cylinder 136 is calculated so that the quantityof treatment gas contained in it is sufficient for one night. Inpractice 5 liter supply cylinders are sufficient for this and are easyto handle. When the supply cylinder 136 is empty, it is routinelyreplaced when the room is being made up and, for example, the towels arebeing changed.

The method of supplying a number of places of use with treatment gas asshown in FIG. 6 is simple and low-cost to install without necessitatingany building alterations. The part shown in the left of FIG. 6 for theproduction and compression of the treatment gas can be installed in oneof the engineering rooms of the building as a ready pre-installed unit.It essentially only needs an electric socket. The interposed mats 48 arereasonably priced parts which can be installed even in conventional bedswithout expense.

This gives rise to the possibility of being able to provide oxygentherapy in any available bed as required and at a reasonable cost.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for supplying a person with additionaloxygen for cutaneous respiration, comprising a mattress (14) having ahead section, a body section, a top side, a lower side and acircumferential portion, the top and lower side being arranged in spacedparallel relationship, a source for treatment gas, the treatment gasbeing selected from the group consisting of oxygen and oxygen enrichedair, distributions means (14; 48; 104) for uniformly supplying thetreatment gas to a selected part of a person being treated, thedistribution means (14; 48; 104) carrying the treatment gas into a spacebetween the top and lower sides of the mattress, the top and lower sidesof the mattress being permeable for gas, and a barrier layer (34)distinct from the mattress (14) covering the lower side of the mattress.2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the circumferential portionof the mattress comprises a circumferential frame that forms a gasbarrier.
 3. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the fill(50) is a loose fibre mat which for preference consists of naturalfibres.
 4. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the fill(50) has the form of a number of balls or spherical bodies (118) whichfor preference are held by threads (126, 128) in a flat lattice-likestructure.
 5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that thefill (106) has the form of an open pore foam material which is providedwith at least one distribution channel (110) running through the fill(106).
 6. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that themattress is an interior sprung mattress (14).
 7. Device according toclaim 6, characterised in that the connection (28) is provided on theunderside of the mattress (14), preferably in the perimeter area of thefoot end section of the mattress.
 8. Device according to claim 6,characterised in that the mattress is connected to a supply line (32)for the treatment gas by means of a plug-in connection (28,30). 9.Device according to claim 8, characterised in that there are provided inthe top side and underside of the mattress (14), and arranged atgeometrically equivalent places, identical, preferably symmetricallyeccentric plug-in connector parts (28) each of which has a valve part(94) which is pre-tensioned (96) in the closed position and which isforced to open by means of a plug-in connector part (30) fixed to thebase (10) of the bed supporting the mattress when the mattress (14) islaid on it.
 10. Device according to claim 1, characterised by a source(58-84) for the treatment gas which consists of a compressor (58) and anoxygen enriching unit (60) which is fed by this, whereby the lattercontains a membrane which has a different permeability for oxygen andnitrogen.
 11. Device according to claim 10, characterised in that theoutlet of the oxygen enriching unit (60) can be connected to a supplycylinder (68) via a control valve (66).
 12. Device according to claim11, characterised in that the supply cylinder (68) is connected to thesupply line (32) via a control valve (66) and a pressure reducer (78).13. Device according to claim 10, characterised by a control unit (70)for the compressor (58) which is supplied with the pressure signal froma pressure transducer (72) connected to the supply cylinder (68) andwith the switch signal of a switch clock (74) and sets the compressor(58) in operation when the pressure in the supply cylinder (68) dropsbelow a pre-set level and the present time lies within a switch windowset on the switch clock (74).
 14. Device according to claim 13,characterised in that the control unit (70), together with thecompressor (58) actuates the control valve (66) which is insertedbetween the compressor and the supply cylinder (68).
 15. Deviceaccording to claim 10, characterised in that a supply cylinder (136) canbe connected to the source for the treatment gas in such a way that itcan be detached and to the conducting device (14; 48; 104) for thetreatment gas in such a way that it can be detached.
 16. Deviceaccording to claim 15, characterised in that the source for thetreatment gas consists of a compressor (130) which compresses thetreatment gas and the supply cylinder (136) is connected to theconducting device (14; 48; 104) via a pressure reducer (142).
 17. Deviceaccording to claim 1, characterised by a mixer device (80) which alsoadds at least a fragrance or an additive to the oxygen or the oxygenenriched air.
 18. Device according to claim 1, characterised by aheating unit (85) which heats the treatment gas supplied to theconducting device (14; 48; 104).
 19. Device according to claim 1,characterized in that the conducting device (14; 48; 104) supplies thetreatment gas with preference to areas between the cover (46) and thetop surface of the mattress (14) in which a user predominantly lies,whilst the supply of treatment gas to perimeter areas is blocked orreduced.
 20. A device for supplying a person with additional oxygen forcutaneous respiration, comprising a mattress (14) having a head section,a body section, a top side, a lower side and a circumferential portion,the top and lower sides being arranged in spaced parallel relationship,a cover (46) overlaying the mattress (14), a source for treatment gas,the treatment gas being selected from the group consisting of oxygen andoxygen enriched air, distribution means (14; 48; 104) for uniformlysupplying the treatment gas to a selected part of a person beingtreated, wherein the distribution means (48) comprises an interposed matarranged between the cover (46) and the top side of the mattress (14),the interposed mat having a cover (52) which is permeable at least inits underside and which is connected to a source (58-84) of treatmentgas.
 21. The device in accordance with claim 20, wherein the cover (52)of the interposed mat has walls that are kept apart in spacedrelationship by a permeable filling (50) which is provided with at leastone distribution channel (110).
 22. A device for supplying a person withadditional oxygen for cutaneous respiration, comprising a mattress (14)having a head section, a body section, a top side, a lower side and acircumferential portion, the top and lower sides being arranged inspaced parallel relationship, a source for treatment gas, the treatmentgas being selected from the group consisting of oxygen and oxygenenriched air, and distribution means (14; 48; 104) for uniformlysupplying the treatment gas to a selected part of a person beingtreated, the distribution means (14; 48; 104) carrying the treatment gasinto a space between the top and lower sides of the mattress, at leastthe top side of the mattress being permeable, the circumferentialportion of the mattress comprising a circumferential frame that forms agas barrier and the mattress being an interior sprung mattress (14). 23.A device for supplying a person with additional oxygen for cutaneousrespiration, comprising a mattress (14) having a head section, a bodysection, a top side, a lower side and a circumferential portion, the topand lower sides being arranged in spaced parallel relationship, a cover(46) overlaying the body section of the mattress (14) and co-operatingtherewith to define a body-receiving space, and a source for treatmentgas, the treatment gas being selected from the group consisting ofoxygen and oxygen enriched air, and distribution means (14; 48; 104) foruniformly supplying the treatment gas to the body-receiving space,wherein the circumferential portion of the mattress (14) comprises acircumferential frame that forms a gas barrier, and the distributionmeans (14; 48; 104) comprises a permeable surface region of the top sideof the mattress having a shape substantially conforming to a boundarycontour of a person lying on a middle portion of the mattress.
 24. Thedevice in accordance with claim 23, wherein the top side of the mattressis gas permeable and said permeable surface region is defined by abarrier layer arranged on the top side and having a cut-outcorresponding to the boundary contour.
 25. A device for supplying aperson with additional oxygen, comprising a source for treatment gas,the treatment gas being selected from the group consisting of oxygen andoxygen enriched air, a conducting device to supply the treatment gas toa selected part of a person being treated, and a mattress of a bed witha top side, a lower side and a circumferential portion, the top andlower sides being arranged in spaced parallel relationship, distributionmeans (14; 48; 104) carrying the treatment gas into a space between thetop and lower sides of the mattress, wherein at least the top side ofthe mattress is permeable and the circumferential portion of themattress comprises a circumferential frame that forms a gas barrier,wherein the mattress is an interior sprung mattress (14) connected to asupply line (32) for the treatment gas by a plug-in connection (28; 30),and wherein in the top side and underside of the mattress (14) there areprovided and arranged at geometrically equivalent places identicalplug-in connector parts (28) each of which has a valve part (94) whichis biased (96) into a closed position and which is forced to open by aplug-in connector part (30) fixed to a base (10) of a bedsteadsupporting the mattress when the mattress (14) is laid thereonto. 26.The device in accordance with claim 25, wherein the plug-in connectorparts are symmetrically eccentric.